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Facing Trials of Many Kinds

2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

James 1:2-4

What are trials?

Trials test Hope, Health, or Holiness

Trials are moments when the spirit that we’ve been empowered with can be demonstrated to us and through us…

Job: He was a man of God that Satan was allowed to test, with the only rule that Job could not be touched. Satan goes on to take everything from him (externally). After Satan seeks to destroy his faith, Job is challenged internally with whether or not he should curse God. In the end, God wins…

Joseph: After being sold into slavery by all his brothers, Joseph eventually ends up in Egypt as a trusted servant to Potiphar, who is a member of the Pharaoh’s officials. One day, his wife approaches Joseph, and when he denies her, she accuses him falsely of attempted rape. Joseph is then sent to prison, where he finds favor with the guards, eventually interprets dreams for Pharaoh, is promoted to Prime Minister over night, and is then able to not only save a nation but redeem the same brothers that sold him into slavery at the beginning of the story. In the midst of it all, Joseph knew that the Lord had guided each step, each turn, and each trial, and he never lost faith.

Just like in these two stories, trials prove our faith, not produce it. The main point is not necessarily that we hold tight to Christ, but that He holds tightly to us.

 

Even though God allows suffering, He redeems it, and He has proven that He is willing to walk through it with us.

 

What do trials mean is most religions and different schools of thought?

1) Punishment

2) Means to Achieve Salvation

3) An Illusion to Be Escaped (have to be enlightened to be above it)

4) Result of a Purposeless Universe Where Nobody Cares

 

Christianity is the only Religion where the Savior Walked Through Those Same Trials, In order to ensure that suffering itself becomes the sufferer in the end…

 

“We are saved by faith alone, but the faith that saves is never alone…”

-Martin Luther-

 

Spiritual apathy is another trial, because it seeks to rob us of our holiness. We are saved by faith, but the journey does not end there. Because we have faith, we are encouraged to walk with a new yoke, with the help of Christ. Walking with Christ allows us the ability to complete each task with purpose and steadfastness. Only with Christ walking with us can we dwell in joy.

 

  1. Trials are not some judicious test that we must pass to gain God’s Love.
  2. We must make our faith and our behavior inseparable.
  3. The one to whom we pray, walked through all trials with steadfastness, AND, His power dwells in us…

 

“The Joy of the Lord is my strength. The Joy of the Lord is my strength. In the darkness I’ll dance. In the shadows, I’ll sing. The Joy of the Lord is my Strength.”

-Rend Collective- Joy of the Lord

(Nehemiah 8:10)

Adapted from a Sermon by Kyle Besmears, at the People of Mars Hill Church

Blessings,

Tyler Vaughn

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Be the Change

Be the Change

(Who We Are vs. Who God Allows Us to Be)

What is Change?

Change: Noun – The act or instance of making or becoming different

Can be external, like changing clothes, or internal, like changing your mind, but what does it look like to have a spiritual change, or changing in light of ETERNITY?

In order to know where you’re going, you have to know where you’ve been. So, who are we, and then how does God respond?

Our War with God

Humans (H) vs. God (G)

 Our Background:

Romans 1:21-23

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to Him, but they became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things (IDOLS). (H)

Romans 1:32

Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. (H)

 Romans 3:23

For all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God. (H)

Romans 7:18-19

For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. (H)

 Ephesians 2:1

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air (Devil)… (H)

What is the common theme here? How well are we holding up our end of the bargain? Is there anything in these verses about how good we are?

This leads to the question: Are we good people that just make bad decisions?

 

God’s Response:

 Ephesians 2:4-7

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ-by grace you have been saved- and raise up with him and seated with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. (G)

Ephesians 2:8

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not of your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (G)

Romans 5:6

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person-though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die- but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (G)

Ezekial 37:1-14

The valley of dry bones (G)

 

Grace- God Giving us What We Don’t Deserve (Eternal Life)

Mercy- God Not Giving Us What We Do Deserve (Death)

 

To sum up what’s going on here, Look at Romans 6:23:

For the wages of sin is death (What We have Earned), but the free gift of God (Grace) is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord (Perfect Propitiation).

So, now that you know who we are, vs. whom God continues to be for us through Christ, let’s talk about change.

Repent, Believe, Slave to Righteousness

But remember, we cannot earn our saving. We know the state we are in. In order to be saved, we have to look upon our own brokenness, and have faith that Jesus through the Holy Spirit, is capable of breaking our stone hearts and delivering a new heart. “What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”

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The Bridge

A picture of a bridge in the wilderness

Imagine that war has broken out, and you are stuck in the middle of it. People are fighting to the death, and nobody is safe. You are tired and lonely, but somehow in the midst of the pain of the fight, you hear whispers of a place where the war hasn’t reached. You have already made so many mistakes, and failed so many times to break free from this war-torn place, but you decide to make one last effort for freedom. You travel for days and days, and your supplies are low. You’ve already had a number of close calls on your life, and you are about to give up.

Then, just as you’ve decided all is lost, you see a new place in the distance. It seems calm and peaceful, not touched by the blackness that stretches out behind you. It seems to be an island of beauty amidst the disaster. You make a break for it, running as fast as you can toward the speck in the distance. But, as you near the place, you see that there is a space in between-an abyss that has no bottom in sight. You spend what little supplies you have left as you look for a way over or around, but this chasm goes as far as the eye can see. You are exhausted, bitter, and defeated. You traveled so far, and overcame so much, just to see that you cannot possibly make it to this new and unaffected land.

As the sun begins to go down, and you have given up all hope that you can ever experience what this place has to offer. You accept death. With no supplies and no energy, you are unable to muster up enough energy to even lift a finger. Your breathing slows, and your health fades along with the sunset.

But even in that moment, another traveler comes along; one who is strong and broad, with shoulders that look like they could bear the weight of the world. He reaches down and grabs hold of the hands that you cannot possibly lift on your own, and pulls you onto your feet. With a voice that sounds like it’s strong enough to command armies, but soft enough to comfort a child, he urges you to try just one more time.

As you are about to tell him it won’t make any difference, that there’s no way across and that you’ve already tried, your gaze shifts back to that chasm. Seemingly out of thin air, you see that a bridge has appeared. Without hesitation you run towards the bridge, never looking back. As you run, you notice the bridge is disappearing under your feet with each step, which encourages you to run even faster. With your heart pounding, you lunge towards, and land on the soft bank of the other side. Even as you heave for air, you can see that this place is the definition of perfection. It’s so hard to believe that this place of rest can exist in the midst of the turmoil and tragedy going on around it.

After the thrill of the moment and the beauty of the place you’ve entered sets in, you look behind you and realize that the traveler isn’t with you. You strain your eyes into the distance only to find that he’s lying where you had been, broken and beaten on the edge of the chasm, with no bridge left to make it across. As darkness settles in, you realize that he traded his life for yours, that you might make it to your destination. You are overwhelmed by his sacrifice and your new surroundings, but are broken by the exchange that was made. He was strong, healthy, and perfect, and now he is dead in the place you should have been.

But as you try to reason and understand, a light flickers on in front of you that quickly illuminates the hillside. As you squint and shield your eyes, the light only grows stronger. Just when you think you will become completely blind, a voice all too familiar fills your ears, and seems to shake your entire soul. It almost seems like it’s inside of you. Immediately you understand whom it belongs to. It is the same voice that was used by the traveler to tell you to try one more time to cross the divide. He is shining so brightly it’s hard for you to make out his frame, but there’s no mistaking that it’s him. While there’s no way that you can fully comprehend the sacrifice that he made for you, you do understand that something inside of you has changed.

You are stronger.

Even as you realize this, a light of your own starts to flicker and catch flame. In this moment the bridge reappears behind you, and you know while you would like to stay here, you have a mission ahead of you. You must travel back into the darkness as a beacon of light. Armed with this new strength and this light that’s inside of you, you know that you can use it to share with and guide others just like yourself- those that are lost and searching- right back to this place that the traveler led you to.

In the midst of the madness, there is one who has a key to bridge the gap, and you know that He will guide them home with this light that he’s passed on to you. As you walk back into the fray, you are armed with a peace and a calm, a strength of spirit that you know is not your own.

You know that whatever comes against you, even though it surely will, that your source of power and your faith in it will not be shaken. You have experienced a sliver of the glory that awaits, but until you return, you know there’s plenty of work to be done.

 

The End, Or, Just the Beginning…

Path Lantern T-Shirt Logo

Be a Light…

 

Photo Credit Here: Bridge Photo

 

 

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